Jackson’s First Swim

10/25/15

It’s been nearly a month since I had my first chemo treatment and I’ve been doing pawtastic, my new tripawd life is awesome I think I’m happier now than I have ever been.  I’m going for walks with Maw down the street, chewing my sticks, playing frisbee and going swimming! Yes a swimming, Maw was determined to get me back in the water were I loves to be as she knew this would bring me much joy.   So several days before my 2nd Chemo treatment Maw strapped a doggie life preserver on me (for extra buoyancy) and we (Steve, Jake and Jake’s friend RJ) made our way down to local town landing.  I was so excited to see the ocean and smell all the scents eager to get right into the water.  I began crying a happy whine so Maw would know that I was glad to be there and Steve threw the ball for me out into the blue gray sea.  Without hesitation I sprang into action galloping down the sand into the cold water and then I was free…swimming with my 3 three legs out into the open ocean.  They continued to throw the ball a couple more times as I frolicked on the beach and swam to my hearts content, this was pawesome!

However, for the next several days… much to my surprise, not unlike men over 70 I could hardly walk every muscle in my body ached and I limped about everywhere.  Maw was worried she had pushed me to much and gave me some Rimadyl, but in the end it was worth every paw of it and I would do it again in a heart beat.  I can’t wait till Maw takes me again hopefully sooner than later, but I know with winter coming I might have to wait till Spring!

image

image

image

image

image

 

Back to work…through the paws of Jackson

image(10/7/15) So today I’m finally ok to return to work with Maw, I’m so excited to see my friends as I know they’ve been praying for my return. I’ve been going to work with Maw for as long as I can remember, practically my whole life it’s all I know & as long as I’m with Maw everything is good!  The day has come & I know Maw’s a little afraid of me getting up in the back of our suv & going up the stairs at the office, but I’ll try to help her the best I can.  She bought me this cool new harness that helps her lift me up & down if needed & helps me feel more confident that I’m not going to fall, so I know that will help a lot.

We arrive at the store & Maw uses the harness to gently lift me out of the car (it works awesome) & we head inside. Diane’s there at the door greeting me talking to me like she always does & gets down on the floor next to me rubbing my belly & scratching my back (she has dog so she gets it).  I can tell she’s a little apprehensive looking at my missing leg, wondering if Maw made the right decision, yet I know she’s happy to see me. Then I hear the rest of the crew upstairs saying hello, so with Maw’s help & my new harness I make it upstairs to my bed, phew I did it!  Everyone is so proud of me & telling me how good I look. Ohh it’s so good to be back in our routine at work I lay down on my bed & take a nap.  The day passes by Maw is meeting with sales reps & they are excited to see me asking Maw all these questions about my procedure, I’m so happy Maw’s not crying anymore when she talks about me. In the afternoon Maw decides it’s time to go for a walk to do my business (it’s been getting easier for me since being off those yucky pain meds) so we head outside.  I realize Maw’s a little anxious because the walk up the hill to the trails behind the MSPCA are quite far, but I know I can do it I have to show her & I know my new harness will help both of us.  So off we go I’m still getting use to hopping on 3 legs, my whole gait is off but I’m managing one step at a time.  So we make it all the way up to the trail I know Maw’s impressed by me because she’s taking a video of me as I hop through the woods, it feels so good to be outside, smelling all the scents I’ve been missing.  As the work day comes to end, Maw uses the harness to help me down he stairs there’s a lot of them, we head back home to see Steve & Jake I can’t wait to share my day with them, I might to take another nap as I’m so exhausted.

🐾Life is good I’m sooo excited to be alive, I know whatever lies ahead Maw & I will get through it together!🐾

Life after amputation…The next step – Chemo

imageThe decision was made once we had decided to go through with Jackson’s amputation that chemotherapy would be the next step. I wasn’t sure how long after surgery but from everyone we spoke to they said start right away. My only dilemma was that Jacskon had an underlying infection from pulling out his staples, so I was hesitant. I did some research & decided to go to the vet hospital that we had gone to for Jackson’s 2nd opinion re: surgery. Dr B the surgeon had recommended the oncologist there as he had done his intern at her hospital years prior, so that made me feel good.

So on 10/7/15 we had our first oncology consult it was just 14 days since Jackson’s surgery. The vet tech was very nice she brought a blanket in the room for Jackson to sit on instead of the tile floor which he loved. The oncologist, Dr. S was very young, but was very through in explaining the 2 protocols to choose from & the respective $ that it was going to cost & took the time to answer my questions (thankfully I have pet insurance, which I’m so glad I have now).

Also during our appointment I asked the vet tech what options she knew of for dog harnesses.  I desperately needed something to get Jackson in and out of my SUV as my back was becoming extremely sore and I couldn’t imagine how I was going to continue helping him on a daily basis.  I had done some research online but it was confusing to figure out which harness would work best for Jackson & what size he was because being a greyhound lab mix his body proportions were all off !    The vet tech recommended “The Help’EmUp Harness” & within less  then 10 minutes the rehab woman fitted Jackson and my life would now become better. (And no this is not an endorsement but this harness has saved my back & my life!)

The following chemotherapy protocols were discussed:

  1. Carboplatin (IV) – may cause nausea & you need to get CBC blood work x2 after first treatment to rule out issues with white/red blood cell count.

2. Doxorubicin (IV) – may cause diarrhea &  requires EKG monitoring because it’s known to cause heart complications.

The 2 protocols had there advantages & disadvantages & I could have decided to do both together, however with Dr. S recommendation I would eventually decide to choose Carboplatin.

He took the time to answer my questions which I had lots of:

  1. What type of chemo pill or IV? (IV)

2. How long will he have to have chemo?   (Every 3 weeks for 4 IV treatments & then switch to pill x6 treatments = 18 months).

3. How long is the process? (The IV only takes about 15 min but between the weigh in, blood work, physical exam & tx it may be 1-2 hrs).

4. Side effects?  Could be nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, etc. however 50% have no side effects & 20-30% do. (Luckily Jackson has very little side effects & is tolerating it well with just fatigue the 1st day).

5. Is his waste harmful? No the suggestion was just be smart about it, wear protective gloves when picking up his waste &  I figured out don’t stand downwind from Jackson’s pees as it has a really intense odor!

6. What type of food, nutrition, supplements should I feed Jackson? Dr S recommendations was don’t make any drastic changes & stick to his normal food regime. I had read a lot online & Tripawds.com re: natural diets, “Bugwig”  protocol (cottage cheese & flax oil), Essiac for Pets which boosts the immune system. You can get dizzy just reading everything. He took the list of supplements that I was planning on giving Jackson & said he would get back to me with his opinion.

7. How do you know when chemo is no longer working? When the side effects outweigh the benefits or when the cancer reemerges.

At the end of our discussion he gave me the option of giving him his first chemo today… But I couldn’t decide which protocol to choose & Jackson had just begun his antibiotics & my head was swirling with taking this next step. So I decided to wait 2 days & it would be Fri another day off work but I had to take care of Jackson & be at peace with our decision to proceed with chemo & this form of treatment.

 

12 days Post Surgery…the things we didn’t know, but wish we did!

imageOur life as we knew it would change for the next couple of weeks…I felt like I was a new mommy with a baby/puppy needing attending every waking hour. I have always been so in sync with Jackson it’s a little scary, I could be in the deepest sleep and if I hear him I’ll wake up.  So this would be my life, I couldn’t sleep because every cry or movement of Jackson in the playpen in the other room I would wake and attend to his need’s whether it was to go outside to the bathroom or just some comforting. Steve on the other hand slept through it all, I suppose just like a Dad might with a new born, I wouldn’t hold it against him that’s for sure!

I kept telling myself “Life is unpredictable and uncertain, everything is interim and a path to prepare you for the next best thing”.  So there’s no way to predict what was to come after Jackson’s surgery (even if the vet had told me), I had to learn to live in it and this is exactly what we did!

Day 1 (9.24.15) – I tried to work from home in-between Jackson resting, but this was hard to do.  I took Jackson out for a short walk around the yard (as exercise was supposed to be very limited) and he seemed to enjoy it, anything to get out of the playpen. He still hadn’t gone to the bathroom, so this made me nervous but I told myself when he has to go he’ll go. I later found out that his inability to go was because of all the pain meds in the hospital and then the Tramadol we kept him on afterward at home.  In the evening he became restless again and couldn’t settle down panting and walking in circles. I woke at 2:30 am to a licking sound (it’s scary how in tune I am with him), sure enough he had somehow gotten his long giraffe like neck (remember he’s part greyhound) around the satellite size cone and  was licking his staples!! I could have killed him, but of course I just sighed knowing that he was just acting out of instinct trying to clean his wounds.  So warm and cold compress outside to pee and then back inside for some pain meds and then off to sleep.

Day 2 (9.25.15) – I woke early feeling exhausted with no sleep, How do new mother’s and father’s function? – I know no comparison to a week of this with your dog vs. years with a baby, but come on this is horrible. So 8am up again crying and restless, so I took him outside to pee (I soon discovered crying didn’t seem to mean pain, but that he needed to go outside) and still no bm, the pain meds were reeking havoc on his poor body. He remained unsettled circling his playpen, I tried cold and warm compresses, but no avial finally he settled after a Rimadyl and fell asleep. The day unfolded and was a good day overall. I took his cone off and he let me do warm and cold compresses while petting his belly, such a good boy letting maw take care of him and bring him back to health. While he slept I did Reiki on his belly trying to get his intestines and stomach to begin to flow and get him to further relax. It worked that evening on our walk outside he did a BM, I was so happy, it’s the little things in life right?  He was beginning to come out of the pain med slumber, his appetite was increasing and he was so excited wagging his tail and crying when Jake and Steve came home.  Yet like clockwork at 8pm he became restless again circling the playpen and wouldn’t settle down, so gave him more pain meds to help knock him out to sleep which only worked for about 6hours because in the wee hours of the am I was awakened once again.  He had worked himself all up trying to ram the cone (of which Steve had created a cone extension by using another cone so he couldn’t get around it & lick his staples) into the playpen to get it off and/or open the pen (smarty pants)!  I wish there was a homeopathic remedy to help him sleep or relax him like melatonin or something? So what does maw do take the extension off the cone and do some Reiki on him, so he would try to go to sleep.

Day 3 (9.26.15) – Woke at 5am this morning to Jackson crying and restless, once agian  I tried warm and cold compress and took his cone off to rub his very bruised belly and did Reiki on him to try to get him to relax  and it worked he settled done, so I could put the cone back on him and go back to bed myself.  His appetite still remains all out of whack and he won’t eat his normal dry food, so I’ve been feeding him his canned food (which was only used in the past as a treat) by hand, yep by hand! At first he was eating out of his bowl, but then stopped so I’ve been having to feed him by hand in order to get him to eat.  Thankfully he loves the cottage cheese we’ve been feeding him (did some research online and saw that Flax Seed Oil blended with cottage cheese was to help with cancer), so I’ve been just doing the cottage cheese for now not wanting to introduce to much this early because of his sensitive stomach issues that he’s had since a puppy.  Today we drove to the animal hospital to get Jackson’s plastic drain tube removed, pretty uneventful they pulled it out and stated the drain site might still produce for a couple of days but not to be alarmed.

I’m so exhausted feeling the stress of this wearing on me and feeling guilty for not being there for my Dad who is building his strength at home.

Day 4 (9.27.15) – Woke at 12:30am, 4:30am, 5am and 6am Jackson still very restless and not able to make it through the night and of course I’m so tuned into him I wake on his every move.  His drain in the midst of this all is still draining which is a good thing but has become a nuisance with it leaking everywhere when he moves in the playpen. We went and bought puppy training pads to put down underneath towels, towels and more towels and still the blood goes through.  Luckily Jackson’s bruising seems to be getting better turning from dark red to pinkish skin, all good signs of healing.  Steve woke up late in the night to give him his pain meds and then I woke again when he became unsettled, restless in the playpen again.  I ended up doing Reiki again on him and it seemed to help because he fell asleep. I heard him barking in the early morning but I was so flippin tired I couldn’t get up so fell back asleep.

Day 5 (9.28.15) – I stayed home from work again with Jackson still not able to head back to work because the drain is still producing blood, so not what I had expected being out of work almost a week and learning as we go along of how to cope with this all. Each day you could press PLAY Jackson waking me in wee hours of the am restless, unsettled cold/warm compress, do some Reiki try to calm and relax him, take him out to pee, feed him by hand then press REPEAT and do it all over again!

Day 6 (9.29.15) – This am I awoke to somewhat of a blood bath, Jackson has aggravated  the wound by circling his playpen and it has leaked out of the drain everywhere, lots of droplets of blood on the floor…ugh!   I stay home again cleaning up the mess and I end up taking him outside & sitting in the sun with him trying to find some peace and joy in this long journey.  He’s appears more alert to life, aware of the smells and sights around him and hopping around much better on 3 legs.  At 2pm I decide I need to go into work, luckily it’s only about 10min away so I leave for a couple of hours only to return after Steve has gotten home before me and I notice changes in the drain flow and pinkness around the drain site.  I ask him if he had cleaned Jackson’s drain he says “no”, sure enough Jackson has gotten his neck and mouth around the cone and licked the drain site and some of the suture area and it looks nice and clean. Ugh, Good job Jackson, let’s just hope no infection!

Day 7 (9.30.15 ) – This morning I decide to stay home and keep a watchful eye on Jackson after last nights antics.  Jake comes home after school and I scoot out to do some much needed errands and then head to work for a bit.  I call Dr. Bennett re: Jackson’s licking episode and she says to just monitor for signs of infection and that it is a good thing the drain is still producing because his body is healing.  She tells me to decrease the amount of pain meds as this may be what’s causing Jackson to be restless.  So I continue warm compresses to help the drain, along with belly scratches and Reiki to help heal his body and calm him.

Day 8 (10.1.15) – Jackson’s site is still draining and I continue to try to make Jackson feel comfortable I take him out for little spurts of sunshine to get some fresh air during the day. We have reduced Jackson’s pain meds and continue to give him his anti-inflammatory med. That night the typical restlessness accompanies him settling down to sleep.  Then somewhere around 1:30 am I awoke suddenly to the sound of licking again, oh no this isn’t possible! Sure enough I find Jackson has gotten his giraffe neck around the cone once again & has proceeded to pull out 3 staples. (He couldn’t wait 3 days until his staples were due to come out), instead he had to take it upon himself to speed things up.  I’m sure the fact that his hair was growing back in wasn’t helping either as it was probably itching between the staples.  I was so upset & worried at the same time as the incision wasn’t gushing blood but it was pink & raw & bleeding somewhat.  So I call the 24hr animal hospital where Jackson had his surgery & discovered there wasn’t much to do other than wait till am & drive him up first thing in the morning. So I find an old t-shirt and put it over his entire body (wish I thought of that sooner as if he reached beyond the cone he wasn’t going to be able to reach the incision).  So I decide to sleep next to him on the couch hoping he will fall back to sleep which he finally does, as I need to sleep too as my head is raging in pain with a headache.

Day 9 (10.2.15) – I wake early and drive the 45min ride to the animal hospital to see one of the attending vets, only to find out that he doesn’t want to re-staple Jackson’s opening as it has healed quite a bit already.  So he sends us home with some gauze’s soaked in anti-bacterial liquid and tells me to keep putting warm compresses on and cleaning the area he licked with this solution.  He takes a culture to rule out infection, so another $$ later we are back home in the playpen.  Ironically later that day it appears the drain has stopped draining, go figure!  At night we put the home-made cone extension (I’ve got to invent this) on Jackson, he hates it but we have to do it, so we can all sleep easy that night.

Day 10 (10.3.15) – Still no bleeding from the drain site, it seems almost impossible but true and his suture area appears to be healing looking a healthy pink and no sign of infection.   So 75 disposable gloves, 60 puppy training pads and 9 loads of laundry later the bleeding has stopped!!!   The playpen is disassembled and no longer and Jackson is resting in his crate with his cone on.   Later that night Steve and I go to a friends wedding and leave Jackson with our neighbor, what a relief it is to have a night off to ourselves.

Day 11 (10-4-15) – A day of relief, Jackson went out for a walk and sat on the lawn in the sun enjoying the sounds of nature and being a dog for once. The drain site hasn’t produced anymore sign of blood, it is finally over.

Day 12 (10-5-15 – We drive to the animal hospital to have Jackson’s staples removed all 30 of them, less the 3 he already pulled out. My friend Judy takes the ride with me to be my moral support, she hasn’t seen Jackson since he came home and can’t believe the progress he’s made.  He’s a trooper and I keep telling him he’s a strong, courageous pup and I’m so proud of him.

I think if Jackson had a voice he would say something like this…”thanks maw for taking care of me, I’m sorry it was such a long couple of days after my surgery, but I’m so glad you comforted me, fed me, washed me, healed me and were there for me during this difficult time.  I’m so thankful that you are here for me now and that you are watching over me making sure I’m going to be alright”.

Coming home…

The wait was unbearable as Jackson would end up staying in the hospital for 2 days because of the extreme swelling that resulted from surgery. On 9/23/15 I went with my friend Judy  (she’s been so supportive of this process and has been there for me and genuinely cares for Jackson’s well-being, it’s great to have such wonderful friends in life) to pick up Jackson.  The wait was over, Jackson came hopping into the exam room on three legs crying like a baby and pushing himself into me.  I had never heard him whine like this before, but I knew it was because he was so happy to see his maw.   The site of his surgery was vast 33 staples in all and he had a lot of bruising around the surgery site and under his belly so this was very scary.  He had to go home with a drain in his underside that would continue to allow the site to drain and heal, this was something we both weren’t prepared for at all.  We got Jackson up into the back of my SUV with the help of a towel under his belly as a hoist and laid a towel underneath him to caught the blood dripping from the drain.  How was I going to continue to get him in and out of my car alone, up stairs, etc.?? He’s 85 lbs or at least was before surgery, my back was screaming just thinking of the backaches as a result of lifting him up.  On the way home we stopped at our friends Dan & Lauren’s (the vet tech who sent me photos of Jackson on the inside) who would allow us to borrow their playpen (from their own dogs) as the vet recommended us to keep Jackson confined as much as possible with his  “cone of shame” on. This was not going to be fun, but we would make the best of it.  Later that evening we would descend on my boyfriend, Steve’s home to stay as it was closer to work for me and the layout of his home allowed for us to put the playpen up in the middle of the living room and kitchen.  Jackson was so happy to see Steve and Jake, his 15yr old son, he cried again showing his happiness for coming home.

This day marked a great day for all, as my father who had been sick for sometime in and out of the hospital also came home. I felt guilty that I wasn’t there for my Dad, but I knew in my heart that he understood as I was dealing with Jackson coming home too.

The first night I had not expectations other than I knew I had to do cold compresses on the suture site and warm compresses on the drain 3-4 times a day. I thought this would last a couple of days but little did I know this would become my life for at least a week and then longer.  Jackson was restless in his new confined home and unsettled waking me up twice during the night crying at 12pm and 1:30am needing to go and pee.  What did we get ourselves into? Only time would tell!